I have previously written two articles in the Uganda Record and Timothy is somebody I sometimes communicate with. However on this one, I have to disagree with him.

I think this article mainly uses negation to arrive at conclusions that are actually of a serious nature – because this involves a government bombing its own people in the capital city, during a World Cup final telecast, in order to gain popularity. I truly find this far fetched, but it’s mainly the argument used to reach that conclusion that I find too imaginary. Examples of negation conclusions include:

Because the police could not give the identities or nationalities of the four arrested suspects, the government has a hand. This conclusion omitted security concerns. It is even not imperative for the Inspector-General of police to give suspects’ details to the BBC, one of the points used by Timothy to reach his conclusions.

That Kale Kayihura immediately pointed a finger at Al-Shabab does not point to the guilt of government. After all, why would Al-Shabab claim responsibility for an attack they were not involved in? In an earlier article, Tim claimed that the government was responsible because Al-Shabab had not claimed responsibility the whole of Monday. The eventual admission by Al-Shabab seems to mean nothing to Timothy. Also no blame can be skimmed off Okello Oryem’s speculation on the motive.

While Tim mentions FBI, he omits that their president has pointed a finger at and condemned Al-Shabab.

The fact that Museveni did not go with a whole battalion surrounding him while visiting the crime scenes does not mean that he has a hand in the attacks. Terrorist, by virtue of the methods they use, are not likely to attack the same place twice on two consecutive days. That would be naïve and they would most likely be caught. I in fact think Museveni stands a more personal security threat from his personal enemies within his system or the region than Al-Shabab. Tim makes a good observation about Museveni always wanting to look the one in charge. Museveni has always been the man to seek attention and look the only one capable. That’s an undesirable trait we have always seen in him and one that has ruined the functioning of institutions in Uganda. However, I can’t draw any conclusion from it as relates to the bombings.

These articles are too conspiratory yet reach far-reaching firm conclusions. While most other speculation is about motive, Tim’s conclusions are unequivocal in their determination of guilt, that is different from the confession from Al-Shabab.

In the absence of no other evidence, I have to believe the confession from Al-Shabab as well as the fact that most available circumstantial evidence now points towards them. I also have to stand beside the government in condemnation of this heinous act and support them in their efforts to pursue and punish the perpetrators.

I live in S Africa where the government has contributed a lot of resources and troops on peace-keeping missions in Africa – Burundi, DRC, Sudan, Sierra Leon e.t.c. If a bandit group from any of those regions came and bombed S Africa, in opposition to these peace-keeping efforts, I wouldn’t look at these bandits dismissively and instead condemn the S African government.

We may have our won differences and disagreements but we should not let them lessen our focus on the threat possed by these terorists on the country, and society as a whole.

10 responses to “I disagree with you on the Kampala bombing motive Mr Kalyegira”

Yes, I think his views on government involvement are far fetched. I think if the issue is to win votes at next election the best or easiest thing the government or the President to do would be to hand out cash or buy those votes through means that appeal to folk on the street.

I would like to thin that the government/President certainly would not benefit from dead voters, especially if you are right that the President is an attention seeker. I don’t envisage him want to seek the wrong sort of attention if his aim is to remain in power indefinitely.

Next thing Timothy Kalyegira is about to tell us is that the Uganda government and Al Shabab plotted this to prop Museveni’s bid for 2011.

I find Tim’s conclusions extreme and speculative. Although there is a remarkable contrast between the way the president dressed up in Bududa and the way he dressed up while inspecting scenes of twin bombings; the lack of security etc this does not mean that the government was behind the murder of her own people.

What value apart from media coverage would government gain from this?! Think Museveni can’t be that desperate to inflict an attack on his own people to allegedly score politically. If government did that, I would think and justifiably so that their priorities are upside down.

The FBI and Scotland Yard involvement in the investigations would expose the government and I don’t think bombing your own people would be a wise thing to do.

I think, it is Timothy Kalyegira himself, who is writing a negative article to court international attention.

People are searching for answers as they try in vain to explain the inexplicable. In the process, some folks are making such fools of themselves. While others are doing a pretty decent job of calling them out for it. Drew Ddembe penned a very impressive retort to Timothy Kalyegira’s allegations on Facebook. My response to that submission is posted below:

Timothy is certainly entitled to his own opinions and he seems to be making a pretty decent living spewing his views. He has clearly established a little niche in Uganda’s ever-expanding media landscape where it seems mediocrity and intellectual dishonesty pass for accomplishment. But for a change, he needs to familiarize himself with an elusive concept that seems a little alien to him. It goes by an oft-used little word – the TRUTH.

Once again, Timothy seems to wallow in a mistaken belief that all his readers simply will not read between his well- spun lines. He gambles with the notion that most people who stumble upon his writings are not well-read, intellectually lazy or simply incapable of digging a little deeper. For starters, what he refers to as the “scientific knowledge that is now at mankind’s disposal”, arrived at us not through speculation as he so confidently declares but through exhaustive, patient and very often painful scientific research. Albert Einstein did not look through a crystal bowl to come up with his ‘Theory of Relativity’. Sir Isaac Newton’s ‘Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica’ didn’t just appear to him in a dream. Copernicus’ ‘On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres’ was more than an exercise in speculative thinking. Galileo Galilei’s ‘Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems’ wasn’t conceived in a fit of mindless speculation. We can’t just speculate about the amount of work it took Leonardo da Vinci to paint the ‘Mona Lisa’ or ‘The Last Supper’. Louis Pasteur’s exhaustive experiments in support of the germ theory that led to breakthroughs in disease prevention were not connived in an fury of speculation but in actual laboratories. It appears the only person who finds it acceptable to equate speculation to fact is Timothy Kalyegira.

Right here in the US, where some of us have willingly chosen to make homes and start families (much to Timothy’s apparent chagrin), the peddling of conspiracy theories is a multi-million dollar industry. We may not believe or like much of what these peddlers say, but if they are not robbing banks, or murdering people and are paying their taxes, the First Amendment protects their right to loudly make fools of themselves. The problem with letting these folks say whatever they please without anybody calling them out for it, is that people eventually start to believe them. A poll conducted here years after the 9/11 attacks revealed that a whopping 36% of Americans believed that the US government was either directly involved in the attacks or knew about them before-hand but deliberately chose to do nothing to stop them. Even Timothy would surely agree that that attack was masterminded and carried out by Al Qaeda. But even after a decade of exhaustive reporting about this issue, a significant segment of the population has chosen to not believe the facts as they’ve been laid out. And these are not just ignorant, poorly educated Americans. Many of these are intelligent, middle and upper class people with PhD’s. So, the ability and willingness to make a fool of one-self is all-encompassing. It’s an equal-opportunity syndrome that spreads far and wide. So I hate to burst his bubble since he seems to believe that he is a crusading lone-ranger, but Timothy is not unique. We’ve seen the likes of him all around and are largely unimpressed

I have said it here before that there is no love lost between many of Timothy’s critics and the NRM government. Reasonable, patriotic Ugandans can disagree on a host of political issues while still maintaining a modicum of sanity and decency. Many of us have deliberately chosen to give Museveni’s government the benefit of the doubt. I believe they deserve that much. This stance is not one borne out of naïveté, but rather a deliberate thought process and a little patience. We refuse to just jump to conclusions. What Timothy is failing or deliberately refusing to understand is that the people who are disagreeing with his assertions are not just towing the official government line. In fact, many of us choose to be especially skeptical of what this government says or does in our name. However, since Timothy sees the world in stark black and white terms, he seems to suggest that if we don’t accept his theories then we are in lock-step with the NRM government. And since this government can never be trusted to tell the truth, then we have to believe what Timothy is saying. His sense of self-worth is frightening. I’ll be polite and simply call it hubris. Problem is that the ‘facts’ for which he and his ilk are “100 percent confident” do not pass the smell test. Matter of fact, they do not even pass the ‘laugh’ test, meaning that when people read Timothy’s assertions, they cannot hold back their laughter. Not because what he is alleging is funny (it’s not), but rather, it’s ridiculous to the point of being hilarious. But people soon compose themselves and stop the guffaws as the seriousness of what’s at stake dawns on them. Ugandans have been brutally killed in a terrorist attack and such irresponsible finger-pointing is insulting and trifling with people’s lives.

Also, for him to suggest that because Al Shabab has claimed responsibility for the attacks means the FBI no longer has a reason to stick around Kampala is ignorant. They are there not just to find out whodunit. That’s just the beginning. The American intelligence agencies did not just call it a day and pack it in the moment Al Qaeda took responsibility for 9/11. They had to clearly establish how the plan was conceived, the motive, its execution and consequences with a view of apprehending the perpetrators and hopefully for lessons to be learned.

Lastly, his attempt to belittle the “formal, grammar school, desk-bound, clerical education” of which he, like many of us is a product of is disingenuous. Never mind the fact that he seems to be making a living off it. If he’s betting on us feeling guilty about belonging to a well educated and sophisticated middle class, then he’s wrong. I and many like-minded Ugandans are not going to apologize for our “iPhones, fancy cars, advanced international MBAs, good schools, top corporate jobs and connections, Facebook profiles, U.S. green cards and our high-speed internet access”. Matter of fact many of us are proud of where we are at, not just materially but also intellectually. We are products of a Ugandan education system that our parent’s toiled so hard under very difficult circumstances to put us through. Nothing was handed to them and we worked so hard to excel and make them proud, just like Timothy did. We do not take our blessings for granted and we certainly don’t abuse them. Many of these Ugandans that Timothy is calling naïve and trying to vilify because they disagree with his assertions, spend themselves in very worthy causes daily. They also choose to not to stand by and be passive and watch while the likes of Timothy Kalyegira take the low road by using their intellect to blatantly lie to their readers. So, this class warfare card that Timothy is trying to play by dismissing his critics as naïve elitists, will not fly. We will continue to call him out for what he is – yet another fellow in a long line of crafty, sharp-witted scribes with a bag of snake–oil and red herrings to sell.

P.S. Abubaker Basajjabaka – I must admit I do not remember you even if your name has a very familiar ring to it. It’s been a while since I left Uganda. I’ve been under the radar here, but as you see, I’ve kept my ear firmly to the ground. Please refresh my failing memory. If you need my contacts, look me up on Facebook and send me a messge there. I will respond promptly.

Phillip, that’s quite a masterpiece you’ve posted. I cannot agree with you more.

I am glad you point out that being reasonable in this case does not mean we are in bed with NRM. My posts on this blog show there are many areas where I disagree with NRM and its record. However, unlike Timothy, some of us will not make it a fashion to shoot off in any direction in order to make NRM look bad, even where sense and reason show otherwise.

Philip, I’ve read and honestly, this is what I would refer to as a treatise. Your response should be clearly conceived by Timothy Kalyegira whose rantings are sometimes skewed in the desire to make news–with a lot of falsehoods sometimes–and in most cases malice those whose views don’t correspond with his.

Even if one is NRM doesn’t mean that you have to agree with the course the party is towing all the time.

I remember in 1999 or possibly 2000, Kalyegira wrote an article castigating individuals who leave the country to make it elsewhere. His views were extreme and in essence invited similar response I’m seeing here. In that article, after traveling to the US for the first time, he was saying that many Ugandans that leave the country end up doing odd jobs and as such are not any better than those who choose to stay behind.

I remember him saying that he found many Ugandans hustled under bridges and that many couldn’t maintain eye contact when they saw him. He was basically saying he was far better than them and that their migration to the US or elsewhere didn’t guarantee them a good life and wasn’t therefore a charm for superiority. I was in SA that time and felt compelled to respond.

Then in another article he praises Ethiopia but it is understandable it is where he got his wife.

That said however, as much as things may be going bad, we need to be objective. The desire to make news, should be governed by facts not speculations.

Phillip Nsajja, if the name Zalika Kimera rings a bell then you must be closing in. I used to talk to you occasionally but was usually when there were those numerous get together. But that said, tried your Facebook but can’t get you by your name. Please invite me and we will connect.

Its good to listen to you all who have contributated on this topic.Very well elit information with theories of all sorts. We also have to consider who is soliciting for who,and it seems most of you preffer Nrm. You have even failed to study or remember who museveni is. Your critisism about Timothy says it all. Timothy’s topics are set to get the out most of all who read his page,and you the learned one do it worse by ignoring the majorities voice and understanding because your just set in your own ways. Books you quote from were written by men like you in the past. It does not mean that they found the solutions of every thing in life for ever, and its seems your so attached to not even use your own minds to think unless its said in the book.What you don’t know from us the rest , we see you as people who are stuck and set a Law and limit to you thinking and understanding.Terrible way of life to live.
Museveni to bomb a few ugandans can not even be a problem to worry about how many votes he gets. He is only worried of the influence the oposition parties have set up against him,and how to control it. So by bombing them i thin k you can all see what is happening,his back to control the crawds in campaigning for 2011. None of the oposition will hold a raley without his permition and security.EXcuse because his security is streached and very un relaible,so non.
He rigs votes,so he does not need masses of people to line up for him at all. Anyway, you need to count on every uganda who hard some thing to say as information for a nice conclusive result,other than relaying on selected body, because these individuals will only say what the order from above set for tthem. If any of you leave abroad as you say,you should have seen how good policing works. Every thing said is vital for good intelligence mates.

Thank you John for your submission. It is clear to me, from your latest contribution above, that you haven’t clearly understood the underlying argument of the discussion on this topic.

The issue is not about being educated or not. It’s not about books or no books. It is about what we think in our opinion is the best take on the situation in Uganda as relates to the Kampala bombings. You definitely have no basis to put a limit to our understanding. If you can make that determination for yourself, that’s all fine with me. However you have no basis or means to make that determination for me. You seem to sink into the same defeatist and accusatory pit as Timothy and that only derails the debate because that’s not what we are talking about here.

I therefore request you to debate issues and propose a way forward rather than looking at the easiest way – that of branding people as MRM sympathizers and claiming they don’t know what they are talking about. What makes you think you are the best know ledged on Ugandan issues?

I disagree with the NRM of very many issues, but on this one, I jump onto their defence until you provide me with evidence that proves otherwise. Please don’t accuse other people for ‘not knowing’ and yet you don’t provide the basis for your ‘knowing’.

By Stephen Twinoburyo, Pretoria. The Uganda Record article “Panic grips Ugandan government over Kampala bomb blasts” by Timothy Kalyegira refers ( http://www.ugandarecord.co.ug/index.php?issue=68&article=836&seo=Panic grips Uganda government over Kampala bomb blasts). I have previously written two articles in the Uganda Record and Timothy is somebody I sometimes communicate with. However on this one, I have to disagree […]

Thank you John for your submission. It is clear to me, from your latest contribution above, that you haven’t clearly understood the underlying argument of the discussion on this topic.

The issue is not about being educated or not. It’s not about books or no books. It is about what we think in our opinion is the best take on the situation in Uganda as relates to the Kampala bombings. You definitely have no basis to put a limit to our understanding. If you can make that determination for yourself, that’s all fine with me. However you have no basis or means to make that determination for me. You seem to sink into the same defeatist and accusatory pit as Timothy and that only derails the debate because that’s not what we are talking about here.

I therefore request you to debate issues and propose a way forward rather than looking at the easiest way – that of branding people as MRM sympathizers and claiming they don’t know what they are talking about. What makes you think you are the best know ledged on Ugandan issues?

I disagree with the NRM of very many issues, but on this one, I jump onto their defence until you provide me with evidence that proves otherwise. Please don’t accuse other people for ‘not knowing’ and yet you don’t provide the basis for your ‘knowing’.

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Its very nice to start and be open to how we think in uganda,and i’m sure every one can read and see what i’m talking about. Ok if you don’t mind at list one of my reason to why we citizen suspect the gov’t to be responsible in this,1. why is that in uganda on airports,boarders people have to pay back hands top officials and their cargo will not be even touched by any other officer for verification of goods. and if the gov’t knows about this what has it done to improve. 2,Museveni him self said corruption is not bad when you need things to work.Can you explain to us as citizen who suffer from it what he ment by it. Isolate and preaching to us is a very big sign of corruption mate. I hope know you can understand that even a simple mind person has some contribution to development.

Below is a statement by a powerful evangelical in response to Obama’s push for immigration overhaul. It in a way captures the position of some of us on Museveni and the Somalia issue:

“I am a Christian and I am a conservative and I am a Republican, in that order,” said Matthew D. Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, a conservative religious law firm. “There is very little I agree with regarding President Barack Obama. On the other hand, I’m not going to let politicized rhetoric or party affiliation trump my values, and if he’s right on this issue, I will support him on this issue.”

MR Twino,its only a matter of time my friend and the choises we chose to live our lives. On your above statement i can no longer say any more. i hope nature will be kind to all of us to have a common ground of how we understand and think of things.
Endeed i do respect to hear your views and every body who contributed on this top. Its has been an eye opener to who us all and those who will have a chance to read it. May you have a nice time mate and bless.